Good life: Your positive achievements

Overlook Primary School held a Flag Day parade June 14 including flag waving and singing patriotic songs.

Overlook Primary kids celebrate Flag Day

Overlook Primary School held a Flag Day parade June 14.

During the parade, students waved flags provided by American Legion Post 1302. Students marched along Mapleview Road in LaGrange, and sang patriotic songs in the parking lot of the school, accompanied by trumpet players from Arlington High School.

The LaGrange Fire Department and Dutchess County Sheriff's office also participated.

The parade is an annual event that has been held since 2000.

Italian-American group awards scholarships

NIDO, a nonprofit Italian-American Cultural Organization dedicated to promoting the Italian language and culture, recently awarded two $500 scholarships and a $100 honorable mention award to students who have excelled in the Italian language.

Jessica Care of Arlington High School and Lana Tatai of Roy C. Ketcham High School received the $500 scholarships. Angelo Delli Carpini of John Jay High School was given the $100 honorable mention.

The students were tested on their Italian comprehension, pronunciation, grammar and the completeness of presentations they made to the scholarship committee.

Oakwood grad headed to MIT credits old school

Kwabena Arthur, graduate of Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, says he is living his dream.

The Ghana, Africa, native dreamed of attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in the fall, he will begin studying chemical engineering there.

Arthur said Oakwood Friends "opened my eyes to how diverse the world is and that everyone can create change." But he also found the culture of the school and his Akan ethnic group to be "very similar."

The Akans are the predominant culture in the West African region that includes Ghana.

Arthur said Oakwood Friends' "sense of community" reminded him of the extended family of Akan culture, making him "feel more at home." He also found the school's values to be similar, citing "integrity, peace and simplicity."